Typhoon Haiyan death toll closer to 2,500, Philippine president says

"We all live on one planet," says Aquino, calling for the world to act on climate change

The typhoon overwhelmed two or three local governments, slowing the initial response

In Tacloban, only 20 of 290 police were available to respond when disaster struck

The previous estimate came from officials who were perhaps "too close" to events

(CNN) -- A well-publicized estimate that Typhoon Haiyan killed 10,000 people in the Philippines is "too much," and the death toll likely is closer to 2,000 or 2,500, President Benigno Aquino III told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

"We're hoping to be able to contact something like 29 municipalities left wherein we still have to establish their numbers, especially for the missing, but so far 2,000, about 2,500, is the number we are working on as far as deaths are concerned," he said.

The monster storm left behind a catastrophic scene after it made landfall on six Philippine islands last Friday, leaving many without access to food and medical care. At least 800,000 people have been displaced, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Marciano Guevara from the Philippine Air Force spent half a day in disaster-struck Tacloban surveying the area and coordinating relief work on Monday. These are some of his photos and impressions of the typhoon aftermath as told to CNN's Diego Laje.

Streets are filled with survivors, foreign rescue personnel and local security forces wading through the debris, says Guevara.

The military men's response after witnessing the death and devastation was "tears, shaking and very sorry for what happened," says Guevara.

Trucks loaded with relief supplies line up along the road that connects the Mactan air base to the runway at Cebu International Airport.

What started as a planning mission inspecting the area in Tacloban became a personal journey of horror and hope, said Guevara after witnessing the damage.

Guevara describes feelings of devastation and heartache after his visit. "These are trials, but positively, it gives a different view towards a better tomorrow," he said.

Mactan base serves local and overseas military transport planes around the clock. Guevara says moral support from the international community "keeps us going."

A Philippines Air Force C-130 lands at Mactan base in Cebu International Airport. The plane helped rescue survivors of the tragedy.

A child is comforted by a soldier after being rescued and brought to Mactan Air Base.

A battalion of the Philippine National Police was mobilized to help bring calm to Tacloban. This unit will travel by sea, as air transport is used for basic supplies and other urgent travel.

Through the eyes of a rescue worker

Desperate for aid

Typhoon devastation through the eyes of a rescue worker

Witnessing death

Supplies on the way

Journey of horror and hope

Trials and heartache

International support "keeps us going"

Air Force aid relief efforts

Air Force aid relief efforts

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Through the eyes of a rescue worker

A man reconstructs his house in the bay of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on November 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction, including more than 5,000 deaths.

A man rests on his damaged house along the shore in Tacloban on Monday, November 25.

Road traffic moves past destroyed houses in Palo, Leyte province, on Sunday, November 24, weeks after typhoon Haiyan caused heavy damage to life and property in the Philippines.

A woman rests inside the damaged Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Tacloban, Philippines, on Sunday, November 24.

A woman looks over the devastated waterfront in Tacloban on November 24.

Typhoon survivors walk down a road in Palo, Philppines, during a procession for typhoon victims on November 24.

A vehicle lies in the water in Tacloban on Saturday, November 23.

A man searches through the debris in Tacloban on November 23.

A man scavenges piles of wood amid damaged container vessels on November 23 in Tacloban.

Local people begin to help clear debris near the shoreline where several tankers ran aground on November 23 in Leyte. The death toll from the storm stands at more than 5,000, according to a government-run news agency.

A man clears debris from in front of his home near the shoreline on November 23 in Leyte.

Groups of men clear debris near the shoreline on November 23 in Tacloban.

Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan inspect the damage to their houses in Tacloban, Philippines, on Friday, November 22.

Filpinos clear rubble from a hard-hit area in Tacloban on November 22.

An airplane lands in Tacloban as Antonio Lacasa rebuilds his house on Thursday, November 21.

People carry a coffin through an opening in the wall of a public cemetery for burial in Tacloban on November 21.

A member of the Philippine air force drops relief goods for survivors in Tolosa on November 21.

Children blow bubbles in a destroyed market in Tacloban on Wednesday, November 20.

Workers clear mud and debris in Tacloban on November 20.

A boy climbs across debris in Tacloban on November 20.

People at the airport in Tacloban react to a blast of wind from an aircraft on November 20.

A man walks through water in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban, Philippines, on November 20.

A man sleeps on Tuesday, November 19, on a tanker that ran aground during Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban.

Firemen unload bodies November 19 for forensic experts to register and bury in a mass grave outside of Tacloban.

Firemen unload more victims outside of Tacloban on November 19.

A man fans the flames of a fire in Tanauan, Philippines, on November 19.

Survivors salvage wood next to stranded ships in Tacloban on November 19.

Philippine military personnel carry an injured survivor to an evacuation flight at the Tacloban airport November 19.

People in Tacloban march in the rain November 19 during a procession calling for courage and resilience among survivors.

People play cards by candlelight Monday, November 18, in Tacloban.

A U.S. Navy helicopter delivers relief goods to typhoon victims in Ormoc, Philippines, on November 18.

Men take food back to their families in Leyte on November 18. Countries all over the world have pledged relief aid to those affected by the typhoon, but damage to airports and roads have made moving the aid very difficult.

People are held back as the U.S. Navy delivers aid from a helicopter in San Jose, Philippines, on November 18.

A helicopter flies over a call for help in Ormoc on November 18.

A man cleans up mud inside a church in the hard-hit city of Tacloban on November 18.

A boy bathes November 18 at a Tacloban school turned into a temporary shelter.

Hundreds of typhoon survivors are packed into a U.S. military airplane November 18 for evacuation from Tacloban's airport.

Typhoon survivors run toward a passing U.S. Navy helicopter in San Jose on November 18.

A boy holding a toy machine gun sits Sunday, November 17, on a ship that ran aground in Tacloban.

People gather around a helicopter as it delivers relief supplies November 17 in Guiuan, Philippines.

Filipinos board an HC-130 Hercules airplane as U.S. sailors carry relief supplies November 17 in Guiuan.

Survivors clean mannequins found among the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

A man leans against a statue of the Crucifixion before a Mass at Santo Nino Church in Tacloban on November 17.

A man carries a piece of wood from the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

Survivors wait in line in Tacloban for relief goods on November 17.

A man looks over the devastation from his damaged home in Tacloban on November 17.

A trapped resident braves the dust created by a U.S. Navy helicopter taking off Saturday, November 16, on Manicani Island, Philippines.

Corpses are collected and loaded on trucks to be taken to mass graves in Tacloban on November 16.

A victim's corpse floats on a river in Tanauan on November 16.

A pregnant survivor waits to give birth in a hospital November 16 in Tanauan.

A dead dog lies in front of a house destroyed by the typhoon in Tanauan.

A man carries a bicycle as he walks through the ruins of a Tacloban building November 16.

Survivors of the typhoon stand in a Tanauan street partially blocked by debris November 16.

An elderly survivor walks past toppled cars outside a church in Tacloban on November 16.

A man in Tanauan cleans meat after slaughtering his only cow that survived the typhoon.

Survivors gather in Tacloban to await transport to a neighboring province on November 16.

Men carry a coffin toward a Leyte cemetery on November 16.

A survivor cooks dinner in front of his damaged home in Marabut, Philippines, on Friday, November 15.

Toppled coconut trees dot a mountain in an area devastated by the typhoon in Leyte province.

A typhoon survivor keeps her husband alive by manually pumping air into his lungs after his leg was amputated at a Tacloban hospital November 15. The hospital has been operating without power since the typhoon.

A survivor reacts to the damage at a residential area in Tacloban on November 15.

Typhoon victims are treated in the lobby of a Tacloban hospital on November 15.

Philippine Army soldiers carry the body of a civilian in Tanauan on November 15.

Residents wait to board a Singaporean cargo plane at the Tacloban airport on November 15. Many survivors have converged on the city's airport to wait for flights.

Search and retrieval teams carry a body bag in Tacloban on November 15.

Haiyan survivors carry food that a U.S. military helicopter dropped off in Guiuan on Thursday, November 14.

Dozens of bodies are placed near Tacloban City Hall on November 14 as workers prepare a mass grave on the outskirts of the hard-hit city.

A girl plays inside her house amid the devastation in Tacloban on November 14.

A Filipino soldier hands out bread to survivors in Maraboth, Philippines, on November 14.

A boy takes cover from rain while waiting for an evacuation flight from Tacloban's airport November 14.

Workers arrange bodies at a mass burial site at a Tacloban cemetery November 14.

The weary wait for evacuation from Tacloban on November 14.

A truck lies in the water in Hernani, Philippines, on November 14.

Children play with fallen power lines near a damaged school in Guiuan on November 14.

Teresa Mazeda hangs laundry in the ruins of her Tacloban home on Wednesday, November 13.

Nina Duran searches for belongings at her family's destroyed house in Tacloban on November 13.

Survivors walk through the ruins of their neighborhood outside Tacloban on November 13.

A man sits in front of his destroyed business November 13 in Tacloban.

A family, desperate to charge their mobile phones to search for family and friends, tries to use a ceiling fan to generate electricity November 13 in the Philippine province of Cebu.

An injured man in Tacloban rests beneath a picture of Jesus Christ on November 13.

A man takes a shower amid the rubble in Tacloban on November 13.

A rescue team wades into Tacloban floodwater to retrieve a body on November 13.

Residents take shelter in a Tacloban church on November 13.

Residents make their way through a destroyed neighborhood in Tacloban on November 13.

A boy cycles past a coffin left on a street in Tacloban on November 13.

A man looks at his destroyed home November 13 in Tacloban.

Body bags are lined up in Tacloban on November 13.

Survivors prepare to board a military plane November 13 at the Tacloban airport.

Men walk through smoke as they burn debris from a Tacloban church on November 16.

An aerial view of Tanuan shows signs pleading for help and food November 13.

Soldiers help a woman after she collapsed November 13 while waiting in line to board a military plane at Tacloban's airport.

Survivors wait to be evacuated from Tacloban on November 13.

An injured survivor gets carried on a stretcher before being airlifted from Tacloban's airport November 13.

A survivor begins to rebuild his house in Tacloban on November 13.

Evacuees wait to board a military aircraft in Leyte on Tuesday, November 12.

People walk through damage in Tacloban on November 12.

A young man waits at the airport November 12 in hopes of being evacuated from Tacloban.

A woman comforts a crying relative as a plane leaves the Tacloban airport November 12.

A man sits crying on a packed aircraft in Tacloban on November 12.

Debris lays scattered around a damaged home near the Tacloban airport on November 12.

A girl sits inside a bus as she waits for a ferry in Matnog, Philippines, on November 12.

Police line up bodies for processing in Tacloban on November 12.

People in Tacloban pass debris on November 11.

Survivors in Tacloban board a military plane bound for the Philippine capital of Manila on November 11.

Residents carry bags of rice from a Tacloban warehouse that they stormed November 11 because of a food shortage.

A woman in Tacloban walks amid the debris of destroyed houses on November 11.

People make their way across a flooded street in Shangsi, China, on November 11. Haiyan moved toward Vietnam and south China after devastating the Philippines.

Buildings lie in ruins on Eastern Samar's Victory Island.

Emily Ortega rests on November 11 after giving birth to Bea Joy at an improvised clinic at the Tacloban airport.

People cover their noses to block the smell of bodies in Tacloban on November 10.

Bodies of victims lie along a Tacloban road on November 10.

A large boat sits aground, surrounded by debris in Tacloban on November 10.

People walk past the Tacloban devastation on November 10.

People stand under a shelter in Tacloban.

A girl peeks out from a makeshift shelter in Tacloban.

Typhoon survivors wait to receive relief goods at the Tacloban airport on November 10.

A woman mourns in front of her husband's dead body November 10 in Tacloban.

Fallen trees litter the ground at the Tacloban airport on Saturday, November 9.

A resident passes victims' bodies on a Tacloban street November 9.

People in Tacloban carry a victim of the typhoon November 9.

A vehicle lies amid Tacloban debris on November 9.

People walk past a victim left on the side of a road in Tacloban.

A resident passes an overturned car in Tacloban on November 9.

Rescue workers carry a woman about to give birth November 9 at a makeshift medical center at the Tacloban airport.

An airport lies in ruins in Tacloban.

Astronaut Karen L. Nyberg took a picture of the typhoon from the International Space Station on November 9.

Women walk past fallen trees and destroyed houses in Tacloban on November 9. Residents scoured supermarkets for water and food as they slowly emerged on streets littered with debris.

A soldier pulls a cable inside the devastated airport tower in Tacloban.

Tacloban houses are destroyed by the strong winds caused by the typhoon.

Dark clouds brought by Haiyan loom over Manila skyscrapers on November 8.

A woman carries a baby across a river November 8 at a coastal village in Las Pinas, Philippines.

A resident walks along a fishing village in Bacoor, Philippines, on November 8.

A house in Legazpi, Philippines, is engulfed by storm surge November 8.

A child wraps himself in a blanket inside a makeshift house along a Bacoor fishing village.

A woman and her children head for an evacuation center November 8 amid strong winds in Cebu City, Philippines.

Huge waves from Haiyan hit the shoreline in Legazpi on November 8.

A fisherman lifts a post to reinforce his home at a coastal village in Las Pinas on November 8.

A resident unloads nets off a fishing boat in Bacoor on November 8.

Residents reinforce their homes in Las Pinas on November 8.

The storm approaches the Philippines in this satellite image taken Thursday, November 7, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Workers bring down a billboard in Makati, Philippines, on November 7 before Haiyan makes landfall.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel stand in formation beside newly acquired rubber boats after a blessing ceremony in Manila on Wednesday, November 6. The boats were to be deployed to the central Philippines in preparation for Haiyan.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan

Haiyan's track

Haiyan's track

Philippine family's survival story

By Tuesday, Philippines officials said 1,774 bodies had been counted and 2,487 people were injured.

The previous estimate of 10,000 killed, Aquino said, came from local officials who perhaps were "too close" to the center of destruction to make an accurate guess.

The typhoon simply overwhelmed the ability of two or three local governments to do their jobs, which include taking care of the initial response, the President said. For example, in Tacloban, only 20 of 290 police were available when disaster struck; many were tending to their own families, he said.

The national government "had to replace a lot of the personnel with personnel from other regions to take care of government's vital functions," Aquino said.

The typhoon wreaked havoc on power lines and communications facilities, which meant government officials faced immense difficulties in identifying needs and dispatching relief supplies and equipment. But the situation has improved, he said. All of the national roads are reopened and most of the airports are nearly back to normal operating levels, he said.

Aquino said the toll might have been higher had it not been for preemptive evacuations, the prepositioning of supplies and cooperation from businesses. "But, of course, nobody imagined the magnitude that this super typhoon brought on us," he said.

Aquino expressed gratitude for the aid that has been pouring in from around the world. "There are, at last count, over 22 countries have either pledged to us, actually given us aid," he said.

Though civil order has broken down in some areas, some 2,000 personnel have been deployed to restore it, he said.

"People were -- became -- desperate, and that's why we are trying to fast-track the situation where national government takes over these local government functions so that order is restored."

Responding to a question about the vulnerability of his country to climate change, Aquino said he had no doubt that climate change is occurring and the world must respond to it. "There should be no debate that this is happening," he said, citing heavy rains during what used to be dry months, periods of drought during what used to be wet months and the havoc that that has inflicted on farmers.

"We all live on one planet," the President said. "Either we come up with a solution that everybody adheres to and cooperates with, or let us be prepared to meet disasters."

Efforts are under way to better prepare the archipelago nation to endure future such assaults, such as planting mangroves in tidal areas as a defense against tsunamis, and investing in meteorology to better predict -- and prepare for -- such events.

After the immediate needs of the populace are met, the nation's focus will turn to rebuilding the tens of thousands of homes affected -- this time to standards better able to withstand typhoons, Aquino said.